Simon Fraser, a former linebacker for
Ohio State University and a current NFL free agent, has endorsed an
effort to repeal Ohio's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment
limiting marriage to heterosexual couples and making marriage the
only union recognized by the state.
“Now is the time to end marriage
discrimination in Ohio,” Fraser
said. “Among great American traditions are: equal treatment
under the law and religious freedom for all. These principles do not
conflict, but exist in harmony. This amendment respects a religion's
right to recognize or not recognize marriages while putting all
Ohioans on equal footing. I support the Amendment and ask my fellow
Ohioans to do the same.”
Fraser, 29, was a member of the 2002
Ohio State Buckeyes football team which won the 2003 national
championship. He played three seasons with the Cleveland Browns and
one with the Atlanta Falcons. He was inspired
to attend medical school by the doctors and nurses who saved the
lives of his son and daughter, who were born prematurely. He is
currently enrolled at Ohio University.
According to the Gay
People's Chronicle, Freedom Ohio, the group gathering the
signatures needed to put the amendment on the ballot, has said that
it will have enough signatures to meet the July deadline.